Monthly Archives: April 2014

1. One thing you saw. (Observing real life IS show prep.)
2. One thing that somebody else told you about. (The reason for this is that other people have different “camera angles” from yours.)
3. One thing you read. (But don’t read it to me. Just tell me about it.)

This will assure your having three solid things to talk about each day. If you’re in a two-person team show, you’ll have six things to talk about. When you add in the Content that the station provides—features, contests, website stuff, etc. the “empty page” fills up fast.

This process divorces you from the all-too-typical “crutch” material like “This Day in History”, Celebrity birthdays, or stealing lines or “bits” from someone else (which never sound like you), And because those 3 things you bring in will be different every day, your Wednesday show won’t just be a repeat of Tuesday’s show.

Jocks tend to think in terms of “benchmarks,” and build a list of things they do at certain times every day that can freeze you into an “autopilot” mentality. There’s room for benchmarks, but you also have to find ways of maintaining or generating that creative “spark.” The “one thing—one thing—one thing” method is an easy way to keep from growing stale, and stay interested in the non-Control room world….you know, the one your listener lives in.

If you want to really coach instead of just critique, here’s what your Talent doesn’t need to hear: generic thoughts like “You had a good show today”…or “You guys were really funny this morning.”

These types of non-specific comments, even well intentioned, are too vague to result in any real progress. Remember that Air Talents, if they’re really good (or if they’re ever going to BECOME really good), are like musicians. They work on their performances note by note, measure by measure, a little more precise here, a little more subtle there, until they put together the end result.

Part of your job in helping your Talent get better is to talk about specific breaks. “I really liked it when you asked that caller about X” or “That bit about X was really great” homes the Talent in on exact ingredients of the performance that please you, and that hit the target in terms of the way you want the station to connect with the Listener.

If you can, play the example for the Talent, then make your comments and get response from him/her. Think of yourself as both the Conductor of the orchestra and a collaborator with each musician.

And you don’t have to always be rah-rah positive. It’s okay to play a break, then ask “What were you thinking there?” or “Where was this going? What was the ending supposed to be?” Reinforcing that there needs to be a point to each break, and that Prep is essential, aren’t negative thoughts. They’re just “workshop” techniques to increase focus. You don’t have to be a jackass about it, but in the long run, what people learn while they work for you is the bottom line. (It’s also okay for you to realize that coaching isn’t your strongest point, and to hire a specialist. It can make your job so much easier.)

If, as an air talent, you’re not getting specifics from your PD, take some tape in there, play it for him (or her), and get some feedback. Remember, if you’re not getting better all the time……..you’re not getting better…all the time!

Amazingly, I still hear people on the radio doing celebrity birthdays, “This Day in History” stuff, trivia questions, and “News of the Weird”-type stories that they find on the internet. (They should be looking up “hackneyed” in the dictionary.) It’s strange how many air talents think of mere habits as “benchmarks” that people listen for. Anything done too often or for too long will eventually become old hat. For example, David Letterman’s Top Ten lists turned into dinosaur bones a long time ago. He should have gone to Top 5, and just done one a week, say on Friday night.

If you do have something that you believe is a benchmark (for a while), you have to hold dear the concept that it’s not enough just to do it regularly. It has to be GOOD—every time. As long as you’re working hard to keep it fresh and not settling for subpar material, it’ll probably work. Just keep in mind that although you do want to be known for a certain style and a set of clearly identifiable qualities, you DON’T want to be known for just doing the same old things every day.

Reassess things regularly. If something even begins to feel like there’s a “Hey, is this milk still fresh?” element to it, throw it away. No benchmark lasts forever, and just like great actors, writers, or musicians, you want to keep coming up with fresh material.

The Bible says “Love your brother as yourself.”
Radio stations (and you, as a Talent) should think “Be about the listener AT LEAST as much as about yourself.”

Most stations/jocks I hear these days seem to not really care about the listener at all. Part of this is liner-card and “promotion-driven” Programming, as if I really give a crap when your next remote broadcast is, or that if I want to drive ten miles out of my way, I can pick up a free station bumper sticker that I can use to deface my car, or a 29-cent koozie.

Some of the blame should be put on the misreading of (and trying to pander to) PPM, as if constantly being told what’s coming up on your station is going to make up for your being boring NOW. (It won’t.) But the main thing is that we’re constantly trying to draw attention to ourselves, rather than simply being Interesting, being Entertaining, or being of Service.

The bottom line is that if it seems like you care about me, I’ll be more likely to care about you.

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:
1. How is today’s show different from yesterday’s (or tomorrow’s)?
2. Is what you do so generic that it could be a show from any day of the week?

Now take it one step further: Is what you do so generic that it could be on any station, or only on your station?

“Plain vanilla” may still be #1 in ice cream, but it certainly isn’t in radio. Today’s relevant content has a different “flavor” than yesterday’s. It’s your job to find what today is about and put it on the air. Sameness is the enemy of performance. (This is why so many so-called “benchmarks” aren’t benchmarks at all.)

Remember, there’s a huge, tangible difference between consistency (which is a good thing) and predictability (which is the kiss of death).

So if you’ve got stuff that you’ve kept around for “when you don’t have anything else,” THROW IT AWAY. It’s as outdated as last month’s tomatoes.